4 ms·

I would love to see this same analysis with a gut probiotic! I am never convinced if I'm wasting my money, which strains are best, should I do refrigerated or s

I would love to see this same analysis with a gut probiotic! I am never convinced if I'm wasting my money, which strains are best, should I do refrigerated or shelf-stable, etc.

staticassertion 9mo ago
As far as I am aware, fiber has infinitely superior research behind it with far more drastic effects. Just take fiber if you're worried about gut health imo.
- monkpit 9mo ago
  Yes, feeding good bacteria is the best bet. Probiotics are transient, they don’t colonize.
  - ungreased0675 9mo ago
    How do they get there initially?
    - ac29 9mo ago
      The environment we live in and the foods we eat are hardly sterile. There is also a significant microbiome on your skin.
- throwoutway 9mo ago
  I agree, but if one has ever taken an antibiotic then they should replace the bacteria that they lost? Strong antibiotics completely destroy the gut biome
  - staticassertion 9mo ago
    The research doesn't strongly support probiotics even in that case one way or the other.
thom 9mo ago
Anecdata/placebo/whatever: I use BioGaia's Gastrus tablets and they increase my quality of life noticeably, and I can tell when I've been off them for a while. I got refrigerated deliveries of probiotic yoghurt drinks for a while previously and in addition to the faff, didn't notice as good results.
- tonyarkles 9mo ago
  Additional Anecdata: I head about BioGaia's Gastrus tablets here on HN a couple of years ago and they have dramatically improved my wife's quality of life as well. She suffered from significant GI problems. We bought a pack of the BioGaia tablets based on an anecdote here. Within about 3 weeks her year-long GI problems were gone. She discontinued the tablets and the GI issues stayed away. About 18 months later, after a period of heavy stress and travel, her GI issues returned and then disappeared again after another round of BioGaia tablets.
  - throwoutway 9mo ago
    Thank you both for the anecdata!

I would love to see this same analysis with a gut probiotic! I am never convinced if I'm wasting my money, which strains are best, should I do refrigerated or shelf-stable, etc.

staticassertion 9mo ago

As far as I am aware, fiber has infinitely superior research behind it with far more drastic effects. Just take fiber if you're worried about gut health imo.

monkpit 9mo ago
Yes, feeding good bacteria is the best bet. Probiotics are transient, they don’t colonize.
- ungreased0675 9mo ago
  How do they get there initially?
  - ac29 9mo ago
    The environment we live in and the foods we eat are hardly sterile. There is also a significant microbiome on your skin.
throwoutway 9mo ago
I agree, but if one has ever taken an antibiotic then they should replace the bacteria that they lost? Strong antibiotics completely destroy the gut biome
- staticassertion 9mo ago
  The research doesn't strongly support probiotics even in that case one way or the other.

thom 9mo ago

Anecdata/placebo/whatever: I use BioGaia's Gastrus tablets and they increase my quality of life noticeably, and I can tell when I've been off them for a while. I got refrigerated deliveries of probiotic yoghurt drinks for a while previously and in addition to the faff, didn't notice as good results.

tonyarkles 9mo ago
Additional Anecdata: I head about BioGaia's Gastrus tablets here on HN a couple of years ago and they have dramatically improved my wife's quality of life as well. She suffered from significant GI problems. We bought a pack of the BioGaia tablets based on an anecdote here. Within about 3 weeks her year-long GI problems were gone. She discontinued the tablets and the GI issues stayed away. About 18 months later, after a period of heavy stress and travel, her GI issues returned and then disappeared again after another round of BioGaia tablets.
- throwoutway 9mo ago
  Thank you both for the anecdata!